Muscles of the trunk

Other Terms:
Muscle group of trunk,
Trunk musculature,
Set of muscles of trunk

Description

The trunk is that part of the body that includes the entire span of the vertebral column. It is divided into four regions – the neck, the thorax, the abdomen, and the pelvis/perineum. The muscles of the trunk arise from the myotome of the segmental embryonic somites. Each myotome forms a dorsal epimere and a ventral hypomere. The cells of these two myotomal regions migrate to form the skeletal muscles of the trunk wall. Cells from the epimeres migrate dorsal to the developing vertebrae to form the epaxial muscles, or extensor muscles of the vertebral column. Cells from the hypomeres migrate ventral to the vertebral column to form the lateral and ventral walls of the trunk.